'\" t
.\"     Title: dropuser
.\"    Author: The PostgreSQL Global Development Group
.\" Generator: DocBook XSL Stylesheets v1.75.2 <http://docbook.sf.net/>
.\"      Date: 2011-12-01
.\"    Manual: PostgreSQL 9.1.2 Documentation
.\"    Source: PostgreSQL 9.1.2
.\"  Language: English
.\"
.TH "DROPUSER" "1" "2011-12-01" "PostgreSQL 9.1.2" "PostgreSQL 9.1.2 Documentation"
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.SH "NAME"
dropuser \- remove a PostgreSQL user account
.\" dropuser
.SH "SYNOPSIS"
.HP \w'dropuser\ 'u
dropuser [\fIconnection\-option\fR...] [\fIoption\fR...] [\fIusername\fR]
.SH "DESCRIPTION"
.PP

dropuser
removes an existing
PostgreSQL
user\&. Only superusers and users with the
CREATEROLE
privilege can remove
PostgreSQL
users\&. (To remove a superuser, you must yourself be a superuser\&.)
.PP

dropuser
is a wrapper around the
SQL
command
DROP ROLE (\fBDROP_ROLE\fR(7))\&. There is no effective difference between dropping users via this utility and via other methods for accessing the server\&.
.SH "OPTIONS"
.PP

dropuser
accepts the following command\-line arguments:
.PP
\fIusername\fR
.RS 4
Specifies the name of the
PostgreSQL
user to be removed\&. You will be prompted for a name if none is specified on the command line\&.
.RE
.PP
\fB\-e\fR, \fB\-\-echo\fR
.RS 4
Echo the commands that
dropuser
generates and sends to the server\&.
.RE
.PP
\fB\-i\fR, \fB\-\-interactive\fR
.RS 4
Prompt for confirmation before actually removing the user\&.
.RE
.PP
\fB\-V\fR, \fB\-\-version\fR
.RS 4
Print the
dropuser
version and exit\&.
.RE
.PP
\fB\-?\fR, \fB\-\-help\fR
.RS 4
Show help about
dropuser
command line arguments, and exit\&.
.RE
.PP

dropuser
also accepts the following command\-line arguments for connection parameters:
.PP
\fB\-h \fR\fB\fIhost\fR\fR, \fB\-\-host=\fR\fB\fIhost\fR\fR
.RS 4
Specifies the host name of the machine on which the server is running\&. If the value begins with a slash, it is used as the directory for the Unix domain socket\&.
.RE
.PP
\fB\-p \fR\fB\fIport\fR\fR, \fB\-\-port=\fR\fB\fIport\fR\fR
.RS 4
Specifies the TCP port or local Unix domain socket file extension on which the server is listening for connections\&.
.RE
.PP
\fB\-U \fR\fB\fIusername\fR\fR, \fB\-\-username=\fR\fB\fIusername\fR\fR
.RS 4
User name to connect as (not the user name to drop)\&.
.RE
.PP
\fB\-w\fR, \fB\-\-no\-password\fR
.RS 4
Never issue a password prompt\&. If the server requires password authentication and a password is not available by other means such as a
\&.pgpass
file, the connection attempt will fail\&. This option can be useful in batch jobs and scripts where no user is present to enter a password\&.
.RE
.PP
\fB\-W\fR, \fB\-\-password\fR
.RS 4
Force
dropuser
to prompt for a password before connecting to a database\&.
.sp
This option is never essential, since
dropuser
will automatically prompt for a password if the server demands password authentication\&. However,
dropuser
will waste a connection attempt finding out that the server wants a password\&. In some cases it is worth typing
\fB\-W\fR
to avoid the extra connection attempt\&.
.RE
.SH "ENVIRONMENT"
.PP
\fBPGHOST\fR, \fBPGPORT\fR, \fBPGUSER\fR
.RS 4
Default connection parameters
.RE
.PP
This utility, like most other
PostgreSQL
utilities, also uses the environment variables supported by
libpq
(see
Section 31.13, \(lqEnvironment Variables\(rq, in the documentation)\&.
.SH "DIAGNOSTICS"
.PP
In case of difficulty, see
DROP ROLE (\fBDROP_ROLE\fR(7))
and
\fBpsql\fR(1)
for discussions of potential problems and error messages\&. The database server must be running at the targeted host\&. Also, any default connection settings and environment variables used by the
libpq
front\-end library will apply\&.
.SH "EXAMPLES"
.PP
To remove user
joe
from the default database server:
.sp
.if n \{\
.RS 4
.\}
.nf
$ \fBdropuser joe\fR
.fi
.if n \{\
.RE
.\}
.PP
To remove user
joe
using the server on host
eden, port 5000, with verification and a peek at the underlying command:
.sp
.if n \{\
.RS 4
.\}
.nf
$ \fBdropuser \-p 5000 \-h eden \-i \-e joe\fR
Role "joe" will be permanently removed\&.
Are you sure? (y/n) \fBy\fR
DROP ROLE joe;
.fi
.if n \{\
.RE
.\}
.SH "SEE ALSO"
\fBcreateuser\fR(1), DROP ROLE (\fBDROP_ROLE\fR(7))
